Debate students compete at state

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State Congress competitors take the oath of office before starting preliminaries.
menefee

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State Congress competitors take the oath of office before starting preliminaries.
menefee

As school started back into session after the Christmas holidays, three debate students traveled to Austin to compete in state Congressional debate. Seniors Josalyn Taylor and Andrea Garcia and junior Colby Menefee qualified for the state meet in November.

“I never thought I would go to state because I’m not as experienced as other debtors,” Taylor said. “But when I found out, I was thrilled.”

The competitors prepped for state by writing new legislation and filing news articles. The entire speech class files articles so they will be accessible for anyone who needs it to compete.

“We really appreciate all of the files because they really help us have all of the information we need to succeed,” Garcia said. “The more files we have, the more legislation we can write.”

At state, Menefee advanced to finals, which were held at the state Capitol.

“Although we did not advance to finals, we are still very honored to have been able to compete,” Taylor said. “It was a really good experience and I’m very excited for the upcoming students to compete in future years.”

Congress is not the only competition that the three students compete in. Menefee and Garcia are debate partners in CX debate, and Taylor competes in LD debate.

“Competing in other events really keeps us at the top of our game for Congress time,” Garcia said. “Any public speaking like what we do in debate really benefits us in Congress.”

All three will compete in Congress again next month at their NSDA district meet, vying for a shot at national competition in June.

“I am always amazed at how well these students can move from contest to contest and refocus their goals from one week to the next,” coach Melonie Menefee said. “They use skills from one contest to prep for another, and that is a huge part of their success.”